Parents spend £2bn getting children ready for new term

With research showing parents spend £177.28 on average preparing a child for the new school term, and another £1,514 per school year once they are there, it may not only be children sorry to hear the school bell this week.

The total cost of kitting out a child with clothes, books, stationery and other necessities in preparation for the new school term is an eye-watering £2bn, equivalent to about £177.28 per child, new research from Santander Credit Cards has revealed.

And the cost of keeping under 18s in school once term begins, including packed lunches, bus fares, school trips and after-school activities, totals £446m per week or about £38.81 per school child – or £1,514 per school year.

On a per child basis, school uniform (£39.49), school shoes (£26.39) and jackets and coats (£21.26) are the biggest outlays in advance of school term time.

Once the term begins, the biggest regular outgoings, per child per week, are packed lunches (£6.97), school dinners (£5.25), and bus or train fares (£4.19), the research has shown.

Parents also collectively spend £862m on fuel per year and travel 4.8 billion miles.